What is Cholesterol Doing in Your Food?

Cholesterol is already present in some food sources....The highest Cholesterol levels are present in foods of animal origin.

As a dietary source...in food...cholesterol is mostly present as an animal fat.
Cholesterol is found in all animal cells and in animal-based foods. Cholesterol is present in animal flesh for the same reasons it is present in yours.

It is also present in much smaller amounts in some plant based food sources as a sterol.

There is some level of debate surrounding cholesterol in plants and whether you can raise your cholesterol level by eating certain plant based foods. Plant foods do contain sterols. The chemical structure of sterols is very similar to that of animal-based cholesterol.
The thing to remember here is that the sterol level found in plant tissue is significantly less than the cholesterol level found in animal tissue and animal derived products.

The bottom line?...

when considering your diet; always try to maximize your fruit and vegetable intake while keeping your foods of animal origin to modest levels.